References
Abstract
Insulinomas are the most common pancreatic tumours in dogs. Diagnosis of insulinoma requires the concurrent presence of hypoglycaemia and serum insulin levels within or above the upper limit of the reference range. The diagnostic imaging modality of choice is triple-phase contrast enhanced tomography. Surgical resection is generally the most effective treatment option, leading to prolonged survival; however, medical management becomes necessary for many dogs at some point. After surgery, dogs can live for a few years without clinical signs of hypoglycaemia, but eventually clinical hypoglycaemia frequently recurs due to the outgrowth of micrometastases that were undetected at the time of surgery. This review consolidates and provides updated recommendations from the veterinary literature on the diagnosis and management of canine insulinomas.
Insulinomas are the most common pancreatic tumours in dogs. Both insulin and hypoglycaemia provide negative feedback for insulin secretion; however, neoplastic β-cells may secrete insulin in an uncontrolled fashion due to the lack of a response to this negative feedback. The excessive insulin secretion leads to hyperinsulinaemia-induced hypoglycaemia (Tobin, 1999).
Although the exact incidence of canine insulinoma has not been established, insulinomas are most commonly seen in middle-sized to large dog breeds including German Shepherds, Irish Setters, Boxers, Poodles, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers and Collies. Nonetheless, insulinomas have also been reported in smaller breeds like West Highland White Terriers (Mehlhaff, 1985; Leifer, 1986; Caywood, 1988). The average age of diagnosis for dogs with insulinomas, based on data from eight publications encompassing 214 dogs, is approximately 9 years, ranging from 3 to 15 years (Buishand, 2022).
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